Nelson DeMille - Plum Island

On the fourth floor the sign said "Executive Offices." I continued up to the fifth floor where there was another steel door, this one unmarked. I pulled on the handle, but it was locked. I noticed a surveillance camera and an intercom.

I went back down to the fourth floor where the executive offices door opened into a reception area. There was a circular reception counter in the center, but no one was at the counter. From the reception area, four open doors led to offices that I could see were sort of pie-shaped, an obvious function of the circular floor plan. Each office had a nice big window in the tower. A fifth door was closed.

I couldn't see anyone at any of the desks in the open offices, and as it was now 1:30, I assumed everyone was at lunch.

I stepped into the reception area and looked around. The furniture looked like real leather, purple, of course, and on the walls were reproductions of de Kooning and Pollock — or the staff's children and grandchildren had been allowed to hang their dribbles. A video surveillance camera was trained on me, and I waved.

The closed door opened and an efficient-looking woman of about thirty appeared. She asked me, "May I help you?"

"Please tell Mr. Tobin that Mr. Corey is here to see him."

"Do you have an appointment, sir?"

"I have a standing appointment."

"Mr. Tobin is about to go to lunch. In fact, he's running late."

"Then I'll drive him. Please tell him I'm here." I hate to flash the tin in a guy's office unless I'm there to help him or to put the cuffs on him. It's the in-between stuff where the guy sometimes gets pissed off if you scare the staff with the tin and bully your way in. I said to the young lady, "Tell him it's important."

She turned back to the closed door, knocked, went in, and shut it behind her. I waited a full minute, which is really patient for me, then I went in. Mr. Tobin and the young lady were both standing at his desk in conversation. He was rubbing his short-cropped beard, looking somewhat Mephistophelian. He was wearing a burgundy blazer, black slacks, and a pink oxford shirt. He turned to me, but did not return my big friendly grin.

I said, "I'm sorry to barge in this way, Mr. Tobin, but I'm kind of pressed for time, and I knew you wouldn't mind."

He dismissed the young lady and remained standing. The man was a real gentleman, and he didn't even show any anger. He said, "This is an unexpected pleasure."

I love that expression. I replied, "For me, too. I mean, I didn't think I was going to see you until your party, then all of a sudden, your name pops up."

'How did it pop up?"

When I popped your ex-girlfriend . Actually, I had a more polite reply and said, "I was just talking to somebody about the case, you know, about Tom and Judy and their love of wine and how they were so pleased to know you. Anyway, this person happened to mention that she also knew you and knew Tom and Judy. So,.that's how your name came up."

He wouldn't go for the bait and replied, "And that's why you're here?"

"Well, no." I didn't elaborate. I let it sit. He was still standing, the window at his back. I walked around his desk and looked out the window. "What a view."

"The best view on the North Fork, unless you live in a lighthouse."

"Right." Mr. Tobin's view was to the north, across his acres of vineyards. A few farms and orchards within the vineyards created a sort of patchwork effect which was very nice. In the far distance, the land rose up into the glacial bluffs, and from this height, I could actually see over them to the Sound. I said, "Do you have binoculars?"

He hesitated, then went to a credenza and fetched me a pair of binoculars.

"Thanks." I focused on the Sound and commented, "I can see the Connecticut coastline."

"Yes."

I craned to the left and focused on the bluff I thought might be Tom and Judy's. I said to Mr. Tobin, "I just learned that the Gordons bought an acre of bluff out there. Did you know that?"

"No."

That's not what Emma told me, Fredric . I said, "They could have used some of your business sense. They paid twenty-five Gs for a parcel that couldn't be developed."

"They should have known if the development rights had been sold to the county."

I put down the binoculars and said, "I didn't say anything about the development rights being sold to the county. I said they couldn't develop their parcel. That could be because of zoning, no well water, no electric service, or whatever. Why did you think the development rights had been sold on their land?"

He replied, "Actually, I may have heard that."

"Oh. Then you did know they bought a piece of.land."

"I think someone mentioned it to me. I didn't know where the land was. Only that it came without development rights."

"Right." I turned back to the window and trained Tobin's binoculars on the bluffs again. To the west, the high ground dropped off where the Mattituck Inlet came through, and I could see the area known as Captain Kidd's Trees and Captain Kidd Estates. To the far right, the east, I could see clearly as far as Greenport and could also make out Orient Point and Plum Island. I said, "This is better than the observation deck in the Empire State Building. Not as high, but — "

"How can I help you, Mr. Corey?"

I ignored his question and said, "You know, you're on top of the world. I mean, look at all of this. Four hundred acres of prime real estate, a house on the water, a restaurant, a Porsche, and who knows what else. And you sit here in this five-story tower — what's on the fifth floor, by the way?"

"My apartment."

"Wow. Wow. I mean, do the ladies like that or what?"

He didn't respond to that and said, "I spoke to my attorney after I saw you yesterday."

"Did you?"

"And he advised me not to speak to the police without counsel present."

"That's your right. I told you that."

"Further inquiries by my attorney turn up the fact that you are no longer employed by Chief Maxwell as a consultant in this case, and that, in fact, you were not employed by the township when you spoke to me."

"Well, now, that's a debatable point."

"Debatable or not, you have no official status here any longer."

"Right. And since I'm not the police any longer, you can speak to me. That works."

Fredric Tobin ignored this and said, "My attorney promised to cooperate with the town police, until he discovered that Chief Maxwell doesn't need or want his or my cooperation. Chief Maxwell is annoyed that you came and questioned me. You have embarrassed me and him." Mr. Tobin added, "I am a generous contributor to key politicians here, and I've been very generous with time and money to renovate historic homes, put up historical markers, contribute to the hospital and other worthy charities, including the Police Benevolent Association. Do I make myself clear?"

"Oh, absolutely. About ten sentences ago. I just came here to see if I could take you to lunch."

"I have a lunch date, thank you."

"Okay, maybe some other time."

He glanced at his watch and announced, "I really have to go."

"Sure. I'll go downstairs with you."

He took a deep breath and nodded.

We left his office and went into the reception area. He said to his receptionist, "Mr. Corey and I have concluded our business, and it will not be necessary for him to return again."

Wow, talk about polite. This guy could slip you the greased weenie, and you wouldn't even feel it for a few days.

Mr. T put his key in the elevator lock, and it arrived in short order. We got in, and on the way down, to break the awkward silence, I said, "You know that Merlot I bought? Well, it came in handy. This is really stupid, maybe funny, but I don't think you'll find it funny — I had to use the stuff to clean birdshit off my windshield."